Following the rumours that surfaced towards the close of last week surrounding an imminent 2007 videogames line-up announcement from Japanese developer and publisher Konami, Hudson Entertainment and Konami have duly stepped from the shadows of speculation and revealed further related details for the Nintendo Wii’s sky-bound “Wing Island.”

With Wing Island on the Nintendo Wii, Hudson and Konami are hoping that players will swoop and soar while gleefully taking to the skies to experience the gameplay thrill and freedom that only the revolutionary Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers can provide.

Set to be released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii videogames console, Wing Island is a high-flying action flight adventure that will likely straddle any preconceived gameplay age barriers, while also placing players in a broad selection of aircraft and assigning them with a squad of wingmen (birds) as they embark on various missions and tasks across their home island.

More specifically, Wing Island’s central character is Junior, a young bird that loves nothing more than to sweep above the island’s glorious vistas with Puffin, his closest friend. When Junior’s grandpa – who owns a family-run aviation business – decides to take a well-earned vacation, it’s left to Junior to run the business in his absence. The game’s missions unfold as Junior takes to the skies with his band of wingbirds in order to take care of the needy islanders that live below.

Wii-specific gameplay revolves around the simple tilting, turning, and twisting (not literally) of the Wii Remote, which translates to direct on-screen movement in the player’s aeroplane and delivers precise flying accuracy. And that precision will be sorely needed when Junior has to navigate tightly confined spaces and execute difficult flight skills such as aerial loops and barrel rolls. Beyond the direct physical controls assigned to Wing Island, players will also be able to command their wingbirds into specific formations according to the requirements of each individual task.

The game’s content sees three separate modes of play arriving to draw in attention, those being:

Story Mode, which involves Junior running the aviation business across more than 25 original missions issued by the island’s inhabitants. Successfully completed missions (such as dousing fires, delivering air freight, and spraying crops) lead to Junior securing cash rewards with which he can purchase and upgrade newly acquired aircraft.

Then there’s Free Mode, and here players can re-play specific missions from Story Mode, taking a more relaxed, pressure free, route to obtaining high scores, or merely basking in the game’s aerial beauty throughout any of Wing Island’s six separate aircraft categories.

Finally there’s Trial Mode, where two players can compete against each other across a selection of mini-games that thoroughly flex each pilot’s amassed control skills. In Trial Mode, players can use either the Wii Remoe or the accompanying Nunchuk for extra multiplayer features while still delivering the necessary level of flight accuracy.

Developed by Hudson Entertainment (Bomberman, Bonk, Super Adventure Island) and published by Tokyo-based Konami (Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, and Silent Hill), Wing Island will be released in the spring of 2007 exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.